The UK ranks among the lowest of OECD countries for welfare generosity, yet we're told the benefits system is "unsustainable."

 

Liz Kendall

Liz Kendall, the Labour Government Work & Pensions Secretary, says the UK benefits system is "unsustainable" and creates "perverse incentives."

According to a report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the UK ranks among the lowest of OECD countries for welfare generosity with the poorest UK households, worse off than those in Slovenia and Malta.

We should not forget what Labour told us when they were in opposition. Labour are not the party for people on state benefits but the party for people in work, so don't be surprised that they like to cut people's state benefits. Labour are the party of the deserving and undeserving. What does Alfred Doolittle say in Shaw's play 'Pygmalion', "

I'm one of the undeserving poor I am. Think what that means to a man. It means he's constantly up against middle-class morality. And what's middle-class morality? Just an excuse for giving me nothing."

If anything creates "perverse incentives", it is means testing. Why would anybody save money if at the end of the day you're going to get penalised because of means testing and you could lose your house to pay for your care costs. If people pay their taxes and find they aren't entitled to certain state benefits like a state retirement pension or help with residential care costs, because they've got too much money, they may well object to paying in at all and subsiding those who are less well off. You might as well as piss your money up against the wall. The welfare state in Britain was introduced on the basis of need and universalism.